U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos has introduced he’s resigning halfway by way of his five-year term.
Santos, the primary particular person of colour to guide the bureau, was appointed by former President Biden. A Mexican American who has recognized as mestizo for the census, Santos was born and raised in San Antonio.
In a letter on Thursday, Santos stated his choice to step down comes “after deep reflection,” according to The Associated Press.
“It’s been such an honor to serve our nation,” Santos wrote on LinkedIn.
All through his time period, Santos turned recognized for emphasizing inclusivity and a necessity to revive public belief within the Census Bureau.
In 2019, Santos co-wrote a report for the City Institute warning that the earlier 12 months’s nationwide rely could have tremendously undercounted Black and Latino folks. Then, throughout his affirmation listening to, Santos advised lawmakers that the bureau wanted “extra transparency and independence to construct public belief.”
He was outspoken in his opposition to how the primary Trump administration handled the 2020 census, notably its selections to finish counting early throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the try to incorporate a query about U.S. citizenship standing.
In mild of his resignation, some civil rights teams such because the the Management Convention on Civil and Human Rights have thanked Santos for his dedication to “making certain equitable information assortment for all communities that precisely displays traditionally undercounted teams.”
“As the primary particular person of colour to function a Senate-confirmed Census Bureau director, Mr. Santos made historical past — not simply by way of his appointment, however by way of his management in making certain that each neighborhood, no matter background or geography, was precisely represented in federal information,” the convention stated in a press release.
The group is now calling on President Trump to fastidiously contemplate who will likely be Santos’s successor.
“We urge President Trump to nominate somebody who not solely meets the statutory necessities in federal regulation however who may even uphold the bureau’s constitutional mandate and keep its long-standing dedication to impartiality,” the group stated. “The integrity of the U.S. Census Bureau should stay above partisan affect, making certain that information assortment and reporting proceed to serve the American folks with accuracy, transparency, and equity.”
